In copending patent application Ser. No. 08/557,269, filed Nov. 14, 1995, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,047,165 entitled, "WIRELESS, FREQUENCY-AGILE SPREAD SPECTRUM GROUND LINK-BASED AIRCRAFT DATA COMMUNICATION SYSTEM," the disclosure which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety, a ground data link system provides a wireless mechanism for transferring data files to and from an aircraft while the aircraft is on the ground at ground data link equipped airports. Flight performance data representative of aircraft flight performance is obtained during flight of the aircraft and stored in a data store.
The system works in an unlicensed frequency band with low power limits having limited range. The system is used at an airport equipped with ground data link equipment. There are times, however, when the flight performance data would advantageously be downloaded when the aircraft is still in the air, such as approaching the airport. This type of data could include fuel consumption and other maintenance data that the gate crew would desire. Additionally, some of the data may be downloaded at initial take-off, such as engine event reporting. This information may be desirable in the first 30 seconds when great stress is placed upon the engines and possible engine problems corrected. However, the system could have some problems with in-air applications because of the lower power, spread spectrum requirements.